“I would like to call on all our friends to take the necessary measures against the Fethullah terrorist organisation in their own countries for the future of their own people and their well-being,” he told the UN General Assembly, referring to Gülen’s movement.

Gülen, who fled Turkey for Pennsylvania and has been active in religious dialogue and charity, strongly denies Erdoğan’s charges that he organised the July military coup attempt, which quickly collapsed.

In response to European accusations of McCarthyism following the failed July coup, Ankara is spreading the message that the West has little understanding about the movement of US-self-exiled cleric Fetullah Gülen, which it calls a terrorist organisation.

Erdoğan, who has sought to purge Turkey’s schools and military of Gülen followers as he solidifies control, told the United Nations that the movement was present in 170 countries, posing a “national security threat” to all of them.

“This terrorist organization is in a deep mental heresy of subduing the whole world, far beyond Turkey,” he said.

“It is evident from our experience that if you do not fight against FETÖ now, tomorrow may be too late,” he said, referring to the group by an acronym.

Erdoğan has pressed the United States to extradite Gülen. US Vice President Joe Biden said on a visit to Turkey last month that legal experts and courts would need to review evidence against the preacher.

The Turkish leader also lashed out at the European Union over implementation of a deal in March that calls for Turkey to step up efforts to stem the flow of migrants, mostly from Syria, who have fled for Europe.

In turn, Europe promised three billion euros in aid, visa-free travel to Turks and faster talks on the country’s longstanding goal of joining the European Union.

“Unfortunately, we have not received significant support from other countries, especially the European Union, that had promised us to contribute in this regard,” said Erdoğan, who said Turkey had spent a total of $25 billion, half of it in camps, to care for the nearly three million Syrians on its soil.

Turkey would have to back out of its agreement with the European Union to stem the flow of migrants into the bloc if the EU does not deliver visa-free travel for Turks, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said.

Turkey’s army and its allies thrust deeper into Syria yesterday (28 August), seizing territory controlled by Kurdish-aligned forces on the fifth day of a cross-border campaign that a monitoring group said had killed at least 35 villagers.

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Turkey has survived a coup attempt with its institutions intact due to the vigorous actions of its citizens to defend the state.
What will the tens of thousands accused of being followers of Gülen that were removed from their jobs do? How can they redeem themselves? Had they broken the laws of Turkey or were they removed for simply following a form of Islamic religious practice?